Aeroplane.



R. H. HARRIS- AEROPLANE.

AIIPUCATIO'N FILED JUL-Y 21.19ls.

1,233,227. Patented July 10, 1917.

R. H. HARRIS.

AEROPLANE.

APPLICATION r|u:n HJLY2L1916.

Patented July 10, 1917.

2 SHFE'a SHEET 2 i ,Um nsr Es PATENT OFFICE.

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Annornm.

To all whom it may co'ncem:

Be it known that I, Rlcnann H. HAnn1s, a

citizen of the United States, "residing; at Greensboro, in .the' county of -Greene and-- State offareorgia, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Aeroplanes, of

which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements'in' aeroplanes and appertains to a flying-madine in which all the present forms of heavy and complicated landing gear isentirely eliminated. 1

o orator utilizeshis feet "in starting). 25

light, safe and compact aeroplafi coeds, theinvention consists in the novelconstruction, combination and arran em'ent The primary, object of. my invention is the provision otfan aero lane of the. character set forth which will e'composed of simply a air of wings that fit ,on the operators b y having a suitable tail. surface atthe rear for' steering and stabilizing purposes and a small lightweight motormounted front-and having a propeller attached thereto for sugplyingpower for flight. I, r Aiifiirt ob ect of my invention is "the profision of a ying machine in which-t ighting, thereby dispensin with heavy landing gear and'pr ucin Astill further 0 ject of my'linvention is the provision of a flyingxnachine ofthe character afidfor the purposes stated which and safety of a mawill have the stability t r ted e presen comp ma chine equip ed with t landing an stabilizing mechanism, and one which from every point of view .will be practical and'eflielent.

YWith thejabove and other objects in view which will appear as the description "pro:

of'paartshereinafter described and c aimed, it

sing. understood that changes in the precise embodiment of the inventionhere- J .pillustrated one complete example "of. the

I 1n disclosed canfbe made without departing from the spirit of the invention.

a In the accompanying draw1ngs,1- have physical embodiment of my invention constructed according tothe best mode'I have so far'devi'sed for thepractical applicationoi the principles of my invention.

Figure 1 represents a the complete'machine.

Fig.- 2 representsadetai'l view'of the 0011-" trolllng levers detached. v Eig'. 3 represents aside elevation of my apparatus in position for startingythe con I Specification of Letters Patent.

as Shown and havethe main port made ri d byan suitable brael' perspectiveview of Patented July 10, in 1.7.

Application filed July 2:, 1910. Serial in. hunt.

trolling mechanism being omitted Ir sake of clearness'.

Fig. 4 represents a diagrammatic ViflW illustrating themachine in flight, the position of the operator being shown in dot-ml lines.

Fig. 5 represents a similar view illustrut 'ing the machine preparatorv to alighting the operator dotted-lines, and I v y F g. 6 represents a sectional view takennm,

line 6-6 of Fig. 2.

Phe apparatus consists substantially aof being in the position shown by the twof'members 1Q arranged'parallel in a horizontal plane and .forminga frame, the two win 11 securednear theiront of the frame t e tail surface 12 secured at the rear thereof, and the vertical rudder 13 at tached to the tail surface.

The wings 11 are arranged on the frame ions 14 that air pree-- they 'wil not be istorted'with pable of being flexed up or downgto present ",a positive or negative angle of incidence to forward movement. 3 .3

These movements of the tips'jlfi can he made independent of each other or :in unison, as one. hand of the operatoreontrols one tip and his other-hand the other tip, as

will behereinafter described. I y

The flaps 0r tips-15 are normall held at a 'zeroangle of incidence, but theap- .parauts'tips to one side, the flap or tip on the low'side is flexedth a positive angle while'the flap or ti .of thehigh side is g1ven a negative ang e; this. action will restore the equilibrium of the apparatus. It is to be noted thattheseflexible portions extend out to the rear of the other pottionsoi "the wings.

Mounted on the rear endofftlieiframe is theta1l-surface'12 which is very ll htin weight as it .does not carryiany weig t, its

function :being mereIyL'that ofa stabilizing and balancin surface. -'This surface mhas held at azero a le of incidence; "butfare sure, and thei i'exible"tips*or "15, ca

capable of, being exedso astopositive or negativeangle of inc l mgg to orward movementy these movements steering. 4 y J Mounted on thejront' end of the frame 0 formed by the frame pieces 10, isfa light molongitudinal balance is maintained, -also vertor 16 having a propeller 17 secured thereto. The motor and the weight of the frame and the tail surface in the rear is so adjusted that they balance at the point Where the operator is attached to the frame, hence, when he is standing on the ground the apparatus is balanced about him in all directions and the 0 erator will not be bothered with one side 0 the apparatus being heavier than the other.

The operator is attached to the frame by means of a harness or corset 18 which securely holds him in the apparatus and at the same time allows him r'ee use of his limbs. When on the ground he stands in an- 11 right position and Supports the weight 0?. the apparatus on his feet and when ready to make a flight, the motor is started and the propeller'begins to draw the apparatus,

with the operator in place, -forward, the op erator running along the ground. Owing to the lifting effect of the wings, the operator is soon relieved of the weight .of the apparatus when he starts forward and as speed is gained the wingsgradually lift the weight of the operator.

Thus the faster the operator runs the lighter he becomes which. enables him with the aid of the traction effort ofthe propeller to run still faster until he is lifted clear of the ground.

When clear of the ground the operator can swing himself down into a. prone position, a suitable hammock or support 19 in .a proneposition with his arms position or vice being placed just in front of him and in which he lies when in a prone position; lllS feet being supported in stirrups 20 on the 'frame members to the rear of the wings.

By adapting this positioii'a great deal of head resistance-is eliminated, consequently the apparatus can fly faster than when the o erator remains in an upright position. he operator is fastened to the apparatus at the center of gravity of his body so that by changing from an uprightto a prone versa will .not shift the center of gravity of the machine as a whole and disturb the balance of the apparatus.

The controlling mechanism (see Figs. 2

and 6) is mounted vjust in frontcf the operator so that he can reach them when in an upright position and holds them when partly folded or vdrawn back, and consists of the horizontal, rod 21 having its outer end formed -With. the arms 22 at right angles thereto and. its'ginner end 23 bent up and vpivoted in the vertical standard 23" formed at its lower end with the pair of horizontal arms .24: and having its upper end fork ed-as at 2.5; Pivoted in the forked end 25 of the standard 23 are the pair of lever-s 26 h av ing near their inner ends the pair of arms 27.

Thus it will be seen that leading from the 22am the wire/$227 which lead to the flexible tips or flaps 15 of the tailsurface, from the arms 24 lead the wires 24' to the vertical rudder l3, and from the two pairs of arms 27 lead the two pairs of wires 27 to the flaps or tips 15 of the wings'll.

The apparatus is made to rise or descend by moving the levers 26 toward or away from the operator, this moving the arms 22 which in turn through the Wires 22 flex the'flaps or tips 15' to present either a positiveor negative .angle of incidence to forward movement. Lateral steering is effected by revolving the levers 26 to the right or left in a horizontal plane, this in turn revolving arms 24 which operate the vertical rudder 13 through the wires 24'.

And lateral balance is maintained by mov-V ing the levers 26 up or down in a vertical plane, this operating arms 27 which in turn flex either up or down as the case may be, the tips or flaps 15 of the wings 11. e

As stated before, the wing tips or flaps 15 are operatedindividually, one by each hand. This is done by having the levers 26 pivoted at their inner ends so that they can be moved up or .down independent of each other, as when the lever is moved up, the wing tip is flexed up.

It'is desirable to have the flaps 15 operated individually for the following reasons:-When making a turn with. an aeroplane it has'to be banked so thatthe wing on'the side toward which it is desired to turn will be lowerthan the other, and the wving on the high side must move faster and cause it to move slower; than the other. Thus the apparatus is banked properly and made to turn by merely flexing theflapto a negative angle on the wing toward which it. is desired to turn. Also in some cases it may bedesirable to lower or raise one wing with out disturbing the, other and this is done by mani ulating the-flap on the wing that is to'be" owel'ed or raised,

In order to correct any lateral-tilting without causing the apparatus to turnythe wing flap on the low side is given-a'posi tive angle and. the flap .on the.highwside-is given. an equal negativeangle,v thus the re sistances on the wing tipsare the same and uo-turning will take place. I

v Thus it will be readily seen that the rudder 13 steers the apparatus in its horizontal plane and that by flexing both wing tips v v 5 no I sistance to. i 'orward movement onth s end the wings, and means for 15 to a positive or negative angle simultaneously, an effective braking action is obtained.

I claim:

1. A flying apparatus comprisin a frame adapted to fasten to a persons b0 y, a pair of outspreading wings connected to the with a supporting frame and its wings and tail carriedthereby, of a harness suspended from said frame forallowing the operator to be in upright posltion when starting or alighting, a hammock and stirrup also suspended from said frame to allow the oper- 'ator to swing himself into a. prone position when in flight, and means for controlhng and propelling the apparatus,- substantially as descr1bed.-

3. In a flying machine, the combination with a supporting frame, of a pair of outspreading wings at the forward end of said frame, a horizontal tail at the rear of the frame, a vertical rudder pivoted to-the tail, flexible tips carried by' said wings and tail,

means mounted on said frame and within" easy reach of the operator for flexing said tips and. operating the rudder for controlling the apparatus, means for propelling the apparatus, and meansfor allowing the operator to keep either a prone or an upright position, substantially as described.

aflix my signature In testimony whereof I in the presence of two witnesses.

RICHARD HILLMAN HARRIS.- lVitggrssergG g EEK,

T. B. R1012. 

